I love a good remake, and I also love a good remake of a remake! Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town traces its roots back to the N64/PSX days of gaming. Most of the characters were initially introduced in Harvest Moon 64, and re-imagined in Harvest Moon: Back to Nature (PSX) with a bit of a twist. I picked this title up for $9.99 on-sale on Steam, but it was originally released on the Nintendo Switch, and so far I’ve loved every minute of it!
A Classic, Modernized
I love a good cozy game, and I’ve been hooked on Story of Seasons since Harvest Moon 64, but admittedly it is difficult to go back to mechanics and UIs designed in the 90s (when controllers had 3 handles for some reason). Lucky for us, the fine folks at Marvelous/Xseed have given us updated graphics, a slick new UI, and other quality of life enhancements. Now you can easily track your stamina as you complete your farm chores, so you know you’re getting tired BEFORE you pass out! This is a welcome change, and will surely prevent many trips to see Dr. Doctor this play-through. I also quite enjoy the visual targets for your tools while on the farm. It’s great to know when you’re a bit off-center before you toss your bag of seeds overhead.
Returning to Mineral Town
I have a confession to make, folks… I never actually finished playing through Back to Nature! It’s a game that I have started countless times, but something always came up. This time feels different though; the game is so polished and responsive compared to the previous versions on PSX and GBA. Booting the game up and taking my first steps back into Mineral Town almost feels like returning home after years away. Most of the familiar characters have returned, with some tweaks to their names and/or appearances, and there are even some new faces! It keeps the game from feeling stale, which sometimes happens with remakes. I’m actually quite excited to explore and rediscover Mineral Town and all its cast of characters.
A Rustic Classic Meets New Technology
I’ve mostly been playing FoMT on my Asus ROG Ally X, so I can carry the game around and lunge while I play. It’s a great setup for most of my play sessions, but what if you want it to be EVEN MORE PORTABLE? Well, dear reader, do i have a treat for you! I decided to try out the game with GameHub, a mobile PC emulator available for free and developed by GameSir, and I’m happy to report that it runs flawlessly on modern flagship devices! While I haven’t been able to test on lower-spec devices yet, if you’ve got this game and a mobile phone, it’s definitely worth a try! I tested using my cheap Moga Xbox controller, and it it played great. If you have a telescopic mobile controller (like the GameSir X5, for instance) it would feel very similar to playing natively on the Switch, in my opinion. You can also play the game with GameHub’s built-in overlay, but the screen feels a little cluttered when doing so.
Chill Out, Water Your Crops, and Relax
So why is this game so appealing? I think it’s the pacing. It has the right mix of arcade-style controls with the laid back, choose-your-adventure feeling of a farming life sim. The days don’t drag on, time actually moves pretty fast (if you are outdoors). But the animations and controls feel tight and snappy, so you don’t feel like you are wasting any time. Sometimes it is just simply nice to not worry about saving the world from insurmountable peril, and just pet some chickens and take a break in the hot springs.
